The Fortune Teller's Curse
by Teh w4nd3r3r
Summary: At the Solaceon Town annual fair, Salle and his friend Ridge come upon a fortune teller's store. When Ridge insults her, a Ninetales is revealed. Salle takes the curse in his place, transforming into a Floatzel. Possible romance..
1. Here we go

"I curse you to die a horrid and painful death…" the fortune teller cursed. She would have no more of this.

"Ha!! There's no such things as curses, you old ugly ass windbag!" Ridge retorted confidently. Salle began to sweat profusely, as he feared for the safety of his friend. He knew all too well about how powerful curses can be. The fact that there was a snarling Vulpix at the fortune teller's side didn't to seem to ease his mood.

"P-p-please, Ridge, stop…" Salle pleaded. Unfortunately, his plea fell on deaf ears. He began to quake with fear. The pokemon sensed this and seemed to suddenly get scarier. However, Ridge was unfazed, as he continued to hurl obscenities at the fortune teller because of the great prediction Salle had gotten.

* * *

_Flashback to 30 minutes ago…_

"_Alright, you won the game!" praised Salle to his friend, Ridge, who had just won the Power Slam game, where you smashed a hammer onto a target to try to make the light hit the top of the tower. _

"_I'm invincible! Nothing can touch me!" Ridge proclaimed like some knockoff king. Moving on, the duo continued on further down the game & gizmos lane until they reached a fortune teller's shop._

"_You think we should get our fortunes told, Salle?" Ridge asked. Salle was carrying a Floatzel doll that represented one of his favorite pokemon. Admiring it, he didn't hear his friend's question._

"_Oh… what'd you ask?" _

"_I asked if you thought we should get our fortunes told." To this Salle replied, "Sure. A prediction sounds good." Unknown to the duo, however, the fortune teller watched them from a crystal ball as they drew near._

"_That orange-shirted young man (who is Salle, by the way) seems like a very kind fellow. I would hate for anything bad to befall one so undeserving," the fortune teller said to her Vulpix. Unknown to everyone except her Vulpix, she was actually a Ninetales in disguise, trying to find a Fire Stone for her child. Unfortunately, the disguise was known to attract very rude remarks. It was the only one that did not cost magic power, as she did not want to attract the wrong kind of attention. _

_When the two came to the shop, Salle and Ridge asked the woman if they could get a prediction. Being the generous person he was, Salle paid her and gave her two Fire Stones mostly as an act of generosity, the other part being that he preferred Water Stones for their color. The old woman, who has a bad case of acne, began to look into the crystal ball, starting with Salle's prediction. Ridge, the black-shirted one, decided to let Salle go first._

"_Let the prediction begin. …I call upon the power of my ancestors… Reveal this young man's fate!" the old woman chanted. Focusing her power into the crystal ball, it began to glow._

"_Gaze into the crystal ball, young man," the woman ordered. Salle cast his gaze into the crystal ball. Ridge, becoming interested, also decided to look. "Wonder what's in his future."_

_The crystal ball began to show an image of gold coins and rare treasures raining down on top of Salle. In a huge mansion, to boot, along with a mysterious girl of his dreams that could not be seen._

"_Wow.. Just wow…I'm speechless…" said a dumbfounded Salle. Nevertheless, he suppressed his excitement but some came out as a smile. After a moment of recovery, Salle asked if this was true. In return, he got a simple 'yes'. Now it was Ridge's turn._

_He was insanely jealous of Salle's good fortune and deemed him unworthy in his mind._

'_That's gonna be MY fortune!' he thought. Yes, he _THOUGHT_. Switching places with Salle, he asked to have his fortune read. The fool that he was, he demanded to be given the same fortune._

"_Don't you know that all fortunes are different for everyone?" Salle told the idiot._

"_No, they're not! They're the same!" Ridge retorted stupidly. "Gimme the same fortune!"_

"_I'm afraid I can't do that. Your fortune would always be different from someone else's," the lady replied calmly. "Please take your own fortune." At this, the black-shirted one began to insult the lady and her Vulpix, arousing a very unsettling angry air._

_-Present time-_

It was beginning to get dark, and the fair had ended, causing everyone to go home. Solaceon Town began to look abandoned, unsettling Salle even more from his dark fear. The old woman was beginning to reach her limit.

"I'll make you pay for this," she spat in a demonic tone. This managed to terrify Ridge obscenely. Suddenly, the exit had been sealed by a magical force. A light began to emanate from the old, ugly woman as she began to transform. When the light cleared, there stood the true form of the woman, a beautiful, gold-colored Ninetales.

"**WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ME NOW?!"** The Ninetales waited for a response from Ridge, who fainted. He must have become mute, because he wasn't saying anything. Salle simply stood there as though he was frozen solid. He had no idea of what he should be doing right now. Running away would solve nothing. The Vulpix had joined its mother in its threat towards Ridge's life. Salle then knew what he had to do.

"N-n-ninetales. Please spare my idiot friend's life. I will accept his fate in his stead if you do," stammered a nervous, fearful Salle, very well knowing that it could mean the end of him. His eyes were shut tight as he braced himself to accept his friend's doom. "I-I-I w-w-would also want him to forget this ever happened, if it's not too much trouble. P-p-please?"

"…Very well then," spoke a more relaxed Ninetales. "I will spare the life of your foolish friend, on the conditions that he never knew you existed, and that your fate is that you live out the rest of your days as a pokemon. Killing you would do nothing, as your noble act to save your moron of a friend would be in vain. Is there a deal? Think about it."

"…D-deal," Salle accepted. Ridge, who had fainted from the fear, was teleported to his bed in his home.

"You are very kind, risking your life to save your friend. I only wish you hadn't done so. And thanks for the Fire Stones. Now the curse must be placed." With that, the Ninetales glowed with an intense blue color. Touching a tail to his forehead which wasn't hard since the Ninetales was about 4 feet, she began to place the curse.

"I curse you to live out the rest of your days as…a Floatzel." With that, the curse was cast and Salle blacked out, teleporting to an unknown area.

'It's a truly noble act. Taking a curse in his friend's stead… I feel almost sorry I did this. Plus, he had given me two Fire Stones that I can use for my children.' the Ninetales thought. 'I don't want him to go insane… Good luck, Salle…'


	2. Might not be so bad

"W…where am I?" Salle asked to no one in particular. As he stood up, he tried to remember the events of last night. "Oh, right…I took my 'friend's' place in the Ninetales's curse…What am I again?…Oh, right, I'm a Floatzel." For some reason, Salle didn't think this would be so bad. Sure, he'd have to avoid the common trainer that would come along and some of the pokemon, but he would no longer have to take hold of the pressures of human life anymore. Plus, he had really cool swimming abilities, such as floating on the surface with his flotation sac.

"It may get a little rough, but I believe that I'll pull through eventually. Who knows, I may even enjoy being a Floatzel. But I know that I have to get stronger if I'm going to survive," Salle stated, hopeful that he would come to enjoy his new pokemon life. His stomach began to growl.

"Hmmm…I should first hunt for some food though…"

"Must've fallen asleep on the way, the lazy bum," a passerby commented as he passed by Ridge's home, which was in Veilstone City. Apparently, this made Ridge shuffle and wake up… to find out that he had a pair of legs standing in front of him, complimented with a tapping foot.

"Ridge, were you out drinking again?" said an impatient lady. Ridge gazed up at the woman who appeared to be in her mid-fifties. She wore a pink dress with matching shoes as though she was about to go to the Game Corner to gamble.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I…must have drunk a lot because I don't remember what happened last night," replied a drowsy Ridge.

"Well, just as long as you're ok, I think you should go inside and get some sleep first. You look like you had a rough night. I won't trouble you further," Ridge's mom suggested.

"That's a good idea, Mom," Ridge responded as he picked himself up and groggily dragged himself to the small home, where he collapsed on the couch into a deep sleep.

"…You should be thankful that I spared your life," a voice hissed in his head.

"…What?…Who said that? Don't make me bash your face in," he stupidly challenged, trying to sound tough.

"I wouldn't dream of bashing YOUR face in, when I could do it for real. Watch me…you wor--" the voice was cut off as Ridge physically flinched, pulling him away from the nightmare.

"What was that voice? And who was speaking to me?" he pondered. He decided to try sleeping again and didn't face that nightmare this time.

Salle managed to catch another fish in his mouth during his underwater hunt. After failing twice, he got the hang of fishing. He found out how long he could hold his breath underwater (60-70 minutes), how to control the flotation sac, how to swim using his two tails as propellers, and how attacks are used. Using what he learned, he caught five fish and plucked 10 Magost berries he found in Route 209's forests. He built a nest inside of a tree near the bank so that he was close to the pond. After eating (where the fish tasted surprisingly better than before), Salle decided to do some training. Unknown to him, he was being watched by someone whom he had met before…

As he woke up from his four-hour nap, Ridge felt confident in himself again. He felt like he could take on the world. He would definitely share this emotion with a close friend…if he had one. As he was getting some cereal, his mom came in.

"Ah. It's good to see you're awake," said Ridge's mom.

"So how was it at the Game Corner?" he asked.

"Terrible. I lost at every game."

"Your game skills suck, mom. Why do you even bother?" This earned him a smack on the forehead. "Hey! They just need polishing. Anyways, I think you should go visit your friend, Salle. He's probably ready to see you again after last night," suggested his mom.

"That sounds goo-- wait a minute, who's that?" Ridge questioned.

"…Ahhahhahahahaha! That's a good joke, son! Ridge, you must've really drunk a lot. You're recovered now, so please tell me you were just joking," his mom started to worry.

"Hmmm…" he began to think. He tried to think about any memories of Salle that he had. He thought long and hard about the battles he watched, the contests his friend admired, and he games they both won.

…He couldn't recall anything about Salle.

"I'm sorry mom, but I really don't remember anything about this Salle person," Ridge responded sadly.

His mom became despondent as a sad silence hung in the home. After a few minutes, she spoke up.

"You have a really bad case of amnesia. It must've been from all the heavy drinking you've been doing. I knew you should have been 30 instead of just 18 years old. We've got to find out how to get your memory back. I'll go to the store to find a book about this. You try to keep calm and relax. I don't think a 15 year-old like Salle would go drinking with you, so I'm sure he still remembers you. We should go visit him, see if he can cure you," suggested Ridge's mom. "Just so you remember, his hometown is in Pastoria City. Got it?"

He had set up some targets along Route 209's riverbanks.

The targets were actually small rocks that he found and brought to an area near his nest.

"Now… what are the moves I can do?" Salle pondered. He remembered the Water Gun he used to pluck some of the Magost berries. Standing on two legs, he attempted to shoot out the water naturally made inside of him. It turned out to be a Hydro Pump as it pierced a hole in the rock. It continued to blast towards the pond. He aimed that way not wanting to hurt any pokemon with his attack.

"So, I can use Hydro Pump, but le--" he was cut off as he automatically used Swift on another target, damaging it. "Okay, I can use Swift. I should try Aqua Jet." He concentrated on charging towards the target with water surrounding his body like a shield. He hit the target at full speed and came out unfazed.

"I didn't know I could go that fast!" exclaimed a clearly astounded Salle. "What about Sonicboom? Where would that attack come from?" he pondered. He thought about flicking his two tails in the same direction and sure enough, a Sonicboom shot out from his tails to the rock, destroying the target completely.

"Now that I know what moves I can do, I should train some more," he resolved. For some reason, he became a bit suspicious of the environment.

'Is someone watching me?' he thought. To his surprise, his suspicions were confirmed as another Floatzel appeared from the bushes. Apparently it had been watching him when he had woken up.

"Hello, Salle," the Floatzel greeted. Salle could tell it was a female because he noticed the one mark on her back.

"Hello, ummm…what's your name?" Salle asked.

"I don't have one."

"Oh…Would you like me to give you one?"

"That'd be nice." Salle began to browse through a variety of names in his head. Finally, he seemed to find a suitable name.

"How about Allie? Will that work?" he suggested. She took a moment to consider it. After 5 seconds, she accepted the name.

"It works, Salle," she responded.

"I have a question, though. How do you know my name?" he asked.

"I was watching you when you came here. I know what had happened to you when I heard you talk about it to yourself," Allie explained.

"You probably think I'm weird for that and what happened to me."

"No, I don't think so. I actually think that was a really nice thing you did for your friend. But how did this happen again?" she asked.

"My friend insanely insulted the fortune teller, who revealed herself to be a Ninetales. I decided to take the curse in my friend's place so that he could live. His curse was to die…I guess she was lenient to me because of the Fire Stones I gave in addition to the pay. However, my friend was to never remember I existed," Salle explained sadly. "But I don't think it's all bad. No more human pressures have to be dealt with, at least until I get caught by a trainer."

"Wow… You really know how to stay positive, especially when your former life was taken away from you," Allie commented.

"I just wanted to protect a friend, even if he did cause all of this to happen. I also know that if I went insane, it would just make me miserable. I don't want to make my own life difficult, or anyone else's. This is all the resolve I need," Salle explained proudly. Allie must've been just about ready to faint from that statement, as it was the most noble statement she had ever heard.


	3. Road to Recovery

"Hey Ridge! Are you ready to go see Salle?" called Ridge's mom.

"Almost, Helen!" Ridge responded, rudely calling his mom by her name. She almost rushed upstairs to smack him because of that, but she realized that he was about to leave her house to go off on his own, so she let it slide.

'sigh I just wish he was a bit more respecting.' she thought to herself. 'Ah well, it happens…' Just then, Ridge came back downstairs wearing a white T-shirt with a blue swirl pattern on it and black jeans. 'At least his sense of style is still the same. Hopefully his sanity is--' Helen's thoughts were destroyed as Ridge made a claim to be hearing voices in his head.

'Too bad his sanity is changed. What kind of amnesia is this?' thought a confused Helen.

"Calm down, sweetie. I think this amnesia is getting to your sanity… '(well, whatever's left of it, anyways)'" his mom said and thought.

"O-okay… Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go already!" he stated, returning to his usual self-appointing self. For once, his mom was actually glad to hear him say that. Normally, she would've slapped him and tell him off. They entered the garage, got into the car (which was an SUV), and drove off to Pastoria City.

Ridge looked outside from his window, deciding to look at the scenery go by. He knew that this ride would be very long, since his mom liked to take the scenic routes. Instead of riding straight down the road to Pastoria, she decided to go the other way. Driving through Solaceon Town was one of her favorite things to do because it was always lively there and she always found solace there, hence the name.

"This trip is boring already…" he muttered. In fact, he was actually glad it was boring as it gave him some time to think.

'Who is Salle? Do…Did I know him? What relationship did we have? And more importantly, what happened to me?' All of these questions rang through his head, unfortunately he couldn't get an answer anywhere.

'Was I really drinking last night?' As more questions rang through his head, he began to fall asleep from the ride and his mental exhaustion.

"Where am I?" Ridge asked to no one in particular. He was suddenly in the dark void that was his mind. He looked around, but to no avail, as he couldn't see anything no matter how hard he tried. He suddenly heard a voice behind him. Something in his head told him not to turn around, but it was too late. His eyes met the image of a Ninetales, the same one from before.

"Y-y-you're the Ninetales that was the fortune teller! I'm really sorry about everything that I said to you! I was overcome with greed! Please don't kill me!!" begged Ridge. It towered over him at an amazing 8 feet tall, which was highly unusual for most pokemon. This was one thing he remembered before he fell unconscious at the time. He knew that he was supposed to have died, but something intervened and saved his life.

"Lucky for you, it is mentally impossible for me to kill you," she responded. Her voice rang through the void as though she was using a megaphone. "I hope that you've learned your lesson. You had also better be grateful that I didn't kill you then. A certain someone protected you by taking your place. Perhaps you've heard of him from your mother…"

"I-is this person…Salle?" Ridge asked.

"It seems you are beginning to remember events long past. I'll let you remember more… if you punch your own face in…" the Ninetales suggested. Not wanting to argue, as he had already avoided death once, he reluctantly punched himself in the face. He nearly knocked himself senseless, but because this was his mind, he recovered quickly, but not without feeling the sting.

"Can I remember more now, please?" he asked while picking himself up.

"No, I was joking. You should have waited for me to say more. Now you know." she replied, annoying Ridge. "What I was really going to say was that you'd have to meet two other Ninetales before I give you your memories back. You'd also have to capture a certain Floatzel and bring him to me. If you don't capture the right one, your memories may never return…" she explained coldly. Ridge paled at this. His cruelty over something that was somewhat major has landed him in an incredibly difficult position. Without following orders, he may never remember a lifelong friend again. As there was no other option, he said, "I accept. For better or worse."

"You really want to remember your friend, do you?" He nodded. "Are you truly and sincerely sorry about what happened?" He nodded again. "I caused all of this. If it weren't for me being like that, none of this would have ever happened. I'll do whatever it takes to make everything all right, no matter what!" he replied confidently.

"That's the spirit. And now, I take my leave. Remember, if you don't present me with the Floatzel, you may never have all of your memories. But since I'm beginning to warm up to you, I'll let you remember one of your experiences with Salle." The Ninetales began to glow in a radiant light, lighting up the void as she touched a tail to his head. He began to remember one of his earliest memories: the time where he first met Salle. She then left his mind to leave him to relive his past.

_At the Game Corner, 9 months ago_

_Salle, the blue-shirted one in yellow jeans, was playing one of the games on the junior side of the arcade. He was racking up a very high score in a game of Pinball and was actually winning coins for it. It turned out that the game was actually rigged to do that to see if players would try to pick up the coins, effectively causing a big distraction that would end the game from a lack of focus. This would also cause the player to lose all coins they attempted to take. Salle, fortunately, was neither greedy nor stupid enough to actually try to pick up the coins where he could just win the game and be proud of that. In comes Ridge, who was 17 wearing a yellow shirt and black jeans. He wandered over to the game Salle was playing and decided to try to talk to him._

"_Hey kid, that's a really nifty score you have going on there," he commented._

"_Please don't talk to me while I'm playing this game. If I come off as rude, I'm sorry," Salle said. As he wasn't going to turn around until he finished the game, he didn't notice the mysterious boy's expression beginning to sour._

"_You don't have to be like that, idiot," Ridge retorted. _

"_It's those coins. They're chang--Aha!! I beat the Pinball game, and with a score of 500 trillion points!" beamed Salle abruptly, catching the mysterious boy of guard. "Whoa! You surprised me! That's really good that you did that! Congratulations,…um, what's your name?" Ridge asked._

"_My name is Salle, and yours?"_

"_Ridge. Anyways, congratulations Salle! But what about those coins on the floor?" Ridge asked._

"_Oh. You can keep them, friend. I don't want them. It's my birthday today, so I don't want them," Salle responded._

"_I told you, my n--wait, you consider me your friend? Even after what I said?"_

"_I don't worry about insults, besides, I was rude to you earlier."_

"'_cept you apologized."_

"_It's okay, anyways, what are you doing in here? I thought this area was for minors only."_

"_It's my birthday today too. I turn 18 today. I'm here to say my goodbyes to this area. What about you?"_

"_Today I turn 15. I'm just here to play some games and beat high scores. Can I visit your house later, since we have our birthdays on the same day."_

"_Sure," responded Ridge._

_2 hours later…_

"_Helen, I'm home! And I brought a friend!" Ridge yelled out into the home._

"_Is it wise to call your mother by her first name?" asked Salle. His question didn't get answered, however, as she came into the room swiftly._

"_Hello young man. I wasn't expecting company. Ridge must've forgotten to call me on his cell phone again," she commented. Ridge began to get mad about this._

"_Alright mom…Anyways, this is Salle, the friend I met," Ridge said, introducing Salle._

"_It's nice to meet you, ma'am," Salle stated while holding out his hand for a handshake._

"_It's nice to meet you too, Salle," she said, accepting the handshake._

"_It's both of our birthdays today, mom," Ridge said, letting her know._

"_What a surprise! Will you be staying with us?" Helen asked._

"_That sounds nice. But I should call my mom first."_

"_Oh! You want to spend the night at your friend's house for your birthday?" asked Salle's mom. "Of course you can. I have something for you when you come back to Pastoria, son. Enjoy your night!"_

"_Thanks, mom! Love you, bye!" Salle replied as he hung up the phone._

"_Boys, I made some cake for the both of you!" called Helen at 8 pm._

"_Thanks, mom. Wow, it looks delicious! What flavor is it?" Ridge asked._

"_Triple Chocolate, Ridge. Complete with strawberry ice cream," exclaimed a prideful Helen._

"_Wow, that sounds really good! Thank you very much, ma'am!" said Salle. The rest of the night proceeded with the "Happy Birthday" song being sung, presents being opened, thanks, and a promise to never forget this night._

"Wait a minute… I'm beginning to remember who he is now! He was the first real friend I ever had! I met him on my birthday, July 30th, the same as his birthday. We played games, ate cake, and we had the best sleepover ever!" Ridge exclaimed, surprising his mother from his sudden jolt awake.

"I'm really glad to hear that, Ridge. I think things are beginning to look up for you. You need to try to remember more about your friend," suggested Helen. Ridge was suddenly caught off guard remembering that he needed to catch a certain Floatzel and find two other Ninetales before his memories of Salle could be fully recovered.

"Hey, mom. I think I should become a pokemon trainer. What do you think?" Ridge asked.

"Well, sure. I mean, if you want to…" she replied.

"Yeah! Thanks mom!" Ridge responded. Pastoria City should have everything he needs for the start of his training. Plus, he was getting one step closer to fully remembering his friend, Salle. To make everything okay again, he had to do this. He may even find a certain joy in this.


	4. The Journey Begins and Love's Discovered

AN: Blast you, Internet complications! Here's ch. 4! I worked harder on this chapter...somewhat...

* * *

By the time Ridge and Helen arrived in Pastoria City, it was 5 pm.

'Well, at least we didn't get here before dark. The sooner I see Salle, the sooner I can convince him to help me recover my memory of him. Forgetting about him is very shameful, as he was my only friend.' Ridge thought. He wasn't really the kind of person who could make a friend on the spot. People he talked to either blew him off on sight, took advantage of him inviting them to his home, or plainly ignored him. Remembering how it always turned out always made him bitter, which caused him to become cruel and stupid over small things.

"Get lost! I don't wanna see your ugly mug around here!" one kid shouted.

'When he isn't looking, BAM! I take some of his mom's money!' another kid secretly schemed. 'He's just a chump!'

Every time Ridge thought about this, he became very irate. Realizing the fact that he was used like some tool that breaks afterward drove him crazy and made him slightly dumber due to the anger. When he turned 18, he calmed down a little, but meeting Salle kept him from going over the edge, mostly. With Salle by his side, he'd be able to be more rational.

'I promise to completely heave the old me behind. Just because I was mistreated doesn't mean I should mistreat back. Insulting gets me nowhere. When I meet Salle, I'm gonna tell him that I'm a changed man, and that I'm going to be a pokemon trainer to recover my memories of him! I will even stay a pokemon trainer,' Ridge promised to himself solemnly. Just then, he and his mom had gotten out of the car, having parked near Salle's house.

"Oh, hello! I wasn't expecting company. Come on in!" greeted Salle's mom, Rachel.

"Hi, Rachel. How are you?" asked Helen.

"I'm not feeling too well. Salle's gone missing. He hasn't come home since yesterday. I don't know where he could be…" said Salle's mom, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Don't worry, ma'am. I'll help find him," promised Ridge. "I'll look for him while I travel around Sinnoh. I'm going to be a pokemon trainer, so I should be able to find him. Don't worry. With the places I'll be going to, I'll find him eventually." This seemed to cheer up Rachel, and surprise her at the same time.

"Wow…you've changed…a lot… This is unexpected coming from you," she said. "…I believe you'll be able to find my son… I hope nothing's happened to him that would devastate me… But I have full confidence you'll find him for me, Ridge," she said, cheering up. "This means so much to me. If you want, you can spend the night here to prepare for your journey."

"Thanks for your hospitality."

* * *

"I'm thinking about going to Pastoria City. I want to be able to see my hometown again. I wonder how my mom is doing, knowing that I've 'disappeared'. I haven't been home in a while, and I don't think my mom would take seeing me as I am, so I'll have to hide from her. Do you want to come with me, Allie?" Salle asked her.

"…I'll come with you, but only because you're cute," she replied, making Salle blush madly. He began to walk forward until he heard her shout.

"Hey! I know a quicker way to get there! We float down the river. It's much easier," Allie said. "The current will help us get there faster than walking, which could take you…about 2 days, probably."

"I do want to get there quickly…how long would it take?""About 15-30 minutes."

"Then it's settled. We float to Pastoria City." Finding the river that would take them to Pastoria, the duo jumped into the water, riding on their flotation sacs as though they were rubber rafts.

'That was a good thing, because I really need a break from the training I had been constantly going through,' thought Salle during the ride. 'In an effort to make myself stronger, I only learned how to use Brine, which was pretty powerful. I even defeated some of the Electric and Grass type pokemon that challenged me, hoping to get an easy win. For some reason, Allie seems to be staying with me. Ever since I won those battles, she seemed to like being around me even more. Does she…love me? Do I love her?' His thoughts were interrupted as Allie surfaced from underneath him, laughing playfully as she caused him to topple underwater. When he resurfaced, he looked like he had a heart attack.

"I did that to help with your mood. You seemed awfully quiet and you didn't even hear me talking to you…but actually, I'm glad you didn't," she explained.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"I don't think you'd want to know."

"Well now I want to. But you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I want to…but I don't know how you would react," Allie said, now floating closer to Salle. 'I think she's about to say that she loves me…but…do I love her?' he thought. 'For all the time that's gone by, she chose to stay with me. She could have just left to be with other pokemon, but she also stayed to watch me battle the pokemon that tried to take the home we shared… I think I love her, as odd as it seems.'

"I want to say…that I love you. I know it sounds odd, but in the many hours I spent with you, I feel like I know you. You care for those around you, even shielding someone from an attack with a risk. As I watched you, you were getting stronger, and when you looked like you were ready to give up from tiredness, you kept going. All of those things, plus the fact that you look really cute (Salle blushed at this) has made me fall in love with you," Allie said with true sincerity in her voice. It seemed like Salle's guess came true.

Actually… I feel the same way you do. The fact that you stayed by my side this whole time has really let me have feelings for you, as odd as it seems. I'm doomed to stay in this form forever, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing… Being turned into my favorite pokemon is actually a dream come true. I've also found true love for the first time in my life… my new life…" Salle replied with true sincerity in his voice as well.

'He…loves me too? I would definitely be jumping for joy if we weren't floating in the water!' Allie thought, really glad she told him how she felt. In her excitement, she floated towards him and began to give him a tight hug, which he gladly accepted inarguably. By the time they had reached Pastoria City, it was nightfall. Allie had fallen asleep in his embrace. Salle decided that he would wait until Allie woke up before he went to check on his mother, knowing that she's not supposed to notice him. With her riding on his back, he swam to a nearby tree hollow to sleep with his new love.

'She was wrong about the time, but I don't care anymore. I'm not in a rush.' he thought. 'I wonder how Ridge is doing, though. It did seem pretty harsh for that Ninetales to take away all of his memories of me, but I'd rather have a friend that's forgotten about me instead of a dead friend… any day…' He stayed up for a while longer, his lover sleeping on his belly, before he too succumbed to tiredness and fell asleep.

* * *

Ideas on what should happen next? I have mine already, but do you have any? Anyways, thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'll see you later, my son. You know, you caught me off guard with your sudden request, but since you are also going to look for Salle, I feel much more relieved that you said this. Good luck on your Pokemon journey. I know that you'll do well and find Salle, wherever your friend is," said Ridge's mom at the Pastorian Mall's exit. With a sleeping bag, night clothes, a few sandwiches, six poke balls, a pokedex, and some money for the road, Ridge was dropped off and left with Salle's mother as his own mom left for Veilstone City. It was getting pretty late as Ridge got settled in his temporary home.

"I appreciate that you let me spend the night here, ma'am. I promise again to look for your son who is also my friend," Ridge said.

"Wow. You've really come a long way from the insulting, somewhat rude Ridge I once knew. I'm glad he's gone," she then saw his face and quickly added, "Not that it was an entirely bad thing."

"I know what you mean. All the times that I've been rude to everyone, even my own mother, and I didn't really say how sorry I was… Well, I'm apologizing now. I didn't mean to be surly, but with all the insults I was hit with during my school years, I kinda caught onto that," Ridge explained.

"I know, and I feel bad for you. You can sleep in Salle's room if you want. You'll find him, I can feel it," Salle's mom said. "And please, call me Rachel. You're old enough now."

"Thank you…Rachel."

Wow, Salle's room is pretty large for someone his size," Ridge commented. For a second floor room, it looked like it could house two beds at once and still have enough space for a few guests.

"He doesn't really like it, but he says it's nice and spacious," responded Salle's mom. "If you need anything, I'll be in my room, right down the hall."

"Thanks," Ridge said. 'Wow, Salle's mom is really nice. Is she where he got his niceness from?' he assumed. 'Well, I should set up my sleeping bag, but I'm sure he won't mind if I sleep on his bed though.' When he changed into his night clothes, he began to fall asleep immediately upon resting on the bed.

'What kind of bed can make you feel like your muscles are melting…?' he thought because the bed felt like a massage chair even though it wasn't moving. He quickly fell asleep before he could say something further.

Once again, Ridge found himself in the dark abyss part of his mind…only it was a little brighter than the last time. Perhaps because of his change of heart? It didn't matter to him much, as he was soon confronted by the same Ninetales from before.

"I remember you still. But why are you here this time?" he asked, no longer scared of her appearance.

"This time, I am here to tell you of your friend's fate, if you remember that your life was almost lost before you fainted," she explained. Ridge began to get a little fearful. Had his friend died because of him?

"No, he hasn't died because of you. I can read your mind in this void, in case you were wondering. Now then, on to matters. Your friend sacrificed his current life to let you live after how rude you had been to me before in my temporary form." Ridge winced at this, already muttering how sorry and out of line he was for that.

"You then fainted from seeing me reveal myself. It seemed that your friend began to fear for your life and so he made a deal to give up his life to let you live, but at the risk of you forgetting everything about him. But since you apologized to me sincerely, I was able to recover one of your memories. I believe that if you can get three other pieces of your memories of Salle, your full memory should return." At this, Ridge sighed with relief. His memory shouldn't take too long to restore.

"Remember that the other two Ninetales I sent to retrieve your memory are my children. You must find them and ask for your memory back. Also remember this: what happened to your friend was an irreversible transformation into…a Floatzel. That's why you must find and catch him, since he holds a part of your memory too."

"But how can I find him? There's millions of them!" Ridge said.

"…You'll recognize him. You have enough memory left to find him, so I believe you'll find him easily," the Ninetales responded. "You'll also be fulfilling your promise to find your friend, and now I must leave you."

Ridge awoke the next morning, more ready than ever to get started on his journey. Unlike most trainers, he opted to begin without a starter pokemon with him. Now that he can fulfill his promise, recover his memory, and have fun, he felt even more pumped up than before. Of course, he couldn't tell anyone about his lost memory, so he would have to pretend he knew Salle.

When he got downstairs, packed up, changed and ready to go, he found Rachel restored to her old self.

"Good morning, Ridge! Are you hungry? I made pancakes with hash browns and scrambled eggs," said Salle's mom.

"That sounds really good. I'd love some!" Ridge responded. True to his statement, he ate the whole breakfast as though he was starving. When Rachel handed him more, he stuffed the breakfast down his throat again, ending his hunger pangs quickly.

"Thanks Rachel. That was delicious!" Ridge complimented.

"So, are you ready to begin?" asked Salle's mom.

"Sure am!" responded Ridge. He wanted to get started on his journey as soon as possible since finding Salle was now a new priority.

'I'm not sure what she meant when she said that I'll recognize him. What could she possibly mean by that?' he thought. It was the only thing on his mind as he left the home to begin his search.

"Oh, two last things: You can come back here any time you want to, and please tell me what happened to Salle," she said. He then began to wonder if he should tell her what happened to himself and Salle from what he remembers. Against his better judgment, he decided that it would be best if she knew that this was his fault.

When he explained everything, he promised that he would make everything go back to the way it once was. He knew she wouldn't take it well and expected to see her with a red face full of upset. But to his surprise, she took it as though it was nothing to worry about.

"I'm shocked that this is what happened and why I can't find Salle. I'm also shocked that you lost your memory of him because of harsh things you said. Forgetting a loyal friend is one of the worst kinds of pain, and since you want to make it go away, I won't be mad about this recent event. I'm sure you'll get your memory of Salle back," Rachel said, surprising Ridge. "For some reason, I wouldn't worry too much about Salle. He's always fantasized about what it'd be like to be a Floatzel, and I'm sure he's enjoying his new life. I am worried about who might catch him, though. Please find him before another trainer does. If you do, please bring him to me…The transformation can't be reversed, I know, but I want to say my goodbyes and wish him luck," she requested.

"I will find him," promised a solemn Ridge. He knew now that he had to be fast. His first (and currently only) goal was to find and persuade him to come with him.

When Salle woke up, he noticed that Allie was still sleeping on his belly. He was surprised that she hadn't moved off of him at all during the night. Her paws were wrapped around him, causing him to wait until she woke up before he could move again. A little later, she woke up.

"Oh, good morning Salle," Allie said.

"Good morning, Allie. Could you get off of me? I want to go see my parent one last time," he requested.

"Oh, sorry. I just really love you now." Allie got off of his stomach.

"I really love you too, but we should get going." Suddenly, their stomachs rumbled. "But we should find some food first," he suggested.

This time, Allie dove for fish along with Salle and together, they caught 15 fish. Then when they looked for berries, they found only one Sitrus berry and decided to share it. After both pokemon had settled their hunger pangs, they continued to float the rest of the way to Pastoria City. As they floated, they continued to play some games while avoiding the occasional Gyrados and Tentacool that swam towards them. One almost grabbed Allie until Salle quickly knocked it away with his Aqua Jet move.

"You know, I'm actually glad I was transformed into a Floatzel," he said as they neared the city.

"Oh/ Is it because of me?" Allie asked, blushing.

"That, and the fact that they're my favorite kind of pokemon. I had always wondered what it would be like to be one," he responded, hugging Allie. "Now, let's go see my mom. She must be really worried about me."

He turned around and noticed that Ridge was sitting by the shoreline. He was obviously thinking about something.

Ridge was at a loss about where to look for Salle. All the places he thought of didn't seem good as he would likely not be allowed. There weren't many buildings that a pokemon could just waltz into without initiating some sort of panic. Heck, he couldn't even go into his own home without his mother freaking out. As he looked towards the river from the shore, he sighed as he found out that he would have to look through the forests to find him. 'I just hope I find him soon before someone else does, crushing my hopes of making everything all right,' he thought. As he began to ponder where to search, he noticed a pair of Floatzels coming up to the shore.


	6. The Meeting

"And here we are, Pastoria City! Aren't you glad we took the river route instead of the land route? Which would've taken a few days?" Allie proclaimed as the duo reached Pastoria's shorelines.

"Well, yeah. I didn't want to take too long getting here," Salle replied. As he looked around, he commented on how it hasn't changed at all, even though he was only gone for a day. What he saw next surprised him greatly.

"Huh? What's Ridge doing here? Isn't he supposed to be in Veilstone?" he asked to himself. If he remembered correctly, Ridge was to have no memory of him, not even of where he lived.

'Was it possible that he had somehow spoken to the Ninetales and got his memory back? Does he really remember me? He must be worried about me if he remembers me,' he thought. 'But how can I speak to him? He probably doesn't even know I'm a pokemon…' At this point, Ridge happened to see the duo.

* * *

'Didn't the Ninetales say that he was a Floatzel and that I had to bring him to her? Now that I think about it, I can recognize him, even if he's a pokemon,' he reminded himself. 'Wait a minute… one of those pokemon on the shore is Salle! I see him. …But how can I tell him what happened? Unless I can understand him or he can speak to me in English, I can't do very much except try to catch him and present him. I'll try talking to him and if I can't understand him or he can't speak to me, I just might have to convince him to come with me,' he resolved.

* * *

"I think I should try to talk to him," Salle said.

"I'm not sure about this one, Salle. What if he tries to catch you? What will happen to me?" Allie questioned nervously.

"I don't think he'd want to capture me unless he had a good reason. Somehow, he looks as if he recognizes me. I think I should try to talk to him." He walked up to Ridge, surprising him. He knew they were talking, but he couldn't hear them from where they were.

'Here goes…' Salle thought. "Ridge? Is that you?" he asked, not expecting to be

understood. But to his surprise, Ridge answered back.

"Is that you, Salle?" Salle was completely caught off guard by this, but decided to chalk it up to a lucky guess. This time he decided to ask a question about his condition.

"Do you remember me?" "Yes, but not fully," Ridge replied, confirming Salle's suspicions of his understanding. Ridge was just as surprised as he was. Being able to understand pokemon was a whole new realization to him. He had heard about certain people having the power to understand pokemon, but his old self thought they were just a bunch of lies. His new self now saw them as actual facts, since now he was one of them.

"You must be Ridge. Were you the moron who put Salle in this state with your insults?" Allie said, almost furiously, not expecting an answer this time.

"…Yes, I was that moron, and I'm deeply sorry about that. I promise to try to make up for it, even though the transformation can't be reversed," he replied, this time sending Allie reeling. The Floatzel couldn't help but become happy, however.

"Admittedly, I'm actually happy that you did. I wouldn't have met and fallen in love with Salle if you were kinder at that time," she responded, creating a bittersweet feeling for Ridge and surprising him as well. "So… Why are you here?" she asked.

"I came to look for Salle so that I could get back my full memory of him." He then began to explain what had happened to him over the past hours. He talked about his mental encounters of the Ninetales from Solaceon Town, her theory on how his full memory could be restored, his new attitude, and the reasons Salle needed to come with him.

"Wow… that's a lot of info. But why did you become a trainer without getting a starter pokemon?" Salle asked.

"I assumed that I'd find one willing to join me… until I found out what happened to you, which changed my reason completely. What makes me wonder is whether you like your irreversible transformation or not," Ridge replied.

"Actually, I do. I don't have to deal with human pressures anymore, and I helped protect your life, which is what I wanted to do anyway. Besides, meeting the one I love has made it all worthwhile," Salle simply said. "I'll come with you, on the condition that Allie can come with me as well. I really love her, and she really

loves me. Separating us would make no sense, and it would make your life difficult." Ridge had no idea what he meant by that, and he certainly wouldn't do that to his best friend.

"She definitely can come with us, but I have to first put the both of you into poke balls so that no one else can try to capture you when you come out of them," Ridge stated, earning tackles to the ground from both pokemon. As long as they could be together, they didn't care about being inside of poke balls. Ridge took this as a yes and pulled out two poke balls.

"Alright, now this should only take a few seconds. Tap the poke balls to go inside," he explained. Both Floatzels obliged and tapped their centers, turning into red light and entering them. Both poke balls shook for a short bit, but soon locked easily from no struggles. When he got the signal that they belonged to him, after a few seconds, he opened up the poke balls, releasing the two pokemon from them.

"So, how did it seem inside of them?" Ridge asked them.

"It seemed like I was in a calming, dark area, yet there was still some light from outside to tell me the time of day," Salle responded.

"I felt like a prisoner in there," said Allie, obviously scared of them. Salle gave her a quick kiss and her fearful feeling was quickly replaced with safety feelings.

"I think you should only use them in case of emergencies, Ridge. I don't want Allie to be scared of them, so I'd like to stay out of my poke ball with her," Salle stated, Allie giving him a tight hug.

"Wow…you two must really love each other. I promise to only use them unless necessary," Ridge replied. "Now, let's go visit Rachel."

* * *

_Well, what do you think? I worked a little harder on this chapter._


End file.
